Q1 Growth Projected At 6.5 Percent

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The Finance Ministry has predicted the domestic economy will continue to grow significantly by 6.5 percent during the first quarter of this year, despite the low export performance.

"I hope the first-quarter growth would remain at 6.5 percent," acting chief of the ministry's fiscal policy board (BKF), Bambang Brodjonegoro, said here on Monday.

The first-quarter growth would mainly be fueled by strong household consumption and investment, he said.

He further predicted that domestic consumption and investment would remain high until the end of this year, while exports would be disrupted as a result of a persistent slowdown in the economies of export destinations, such as the United States and Europe.

"Investment and consumption must be able to take over the role of exports in 2012. If investments grow in a range of 9 percent to 10 percent this year, it could cover the lost growth caused by low exports," he said.(IGT)